Alone in an Untamed Land
Alone in an Untamed Land: The Filles du Roi Diary of Hélène St. Onge is the seventh book in Scholastic's Dear Canada series. The book was Maxine Trottier's first in the series. It was published in March 2003 and released in French later that year. The story follows Hélène St. Onge, who accompanies her sister Catherine, a filles du roi, to New France. Dedication :"For Lauren Jones, my niece in the 18th century" Book description Original= :"le 22 juin 1666 I stood on deck and watched France disappear in the mist. Catherine stayed inside the ship, below, the captain calls it. But I had to watch. I may never see France again. I wept. My cheeks were damp with the mist and so I think that no one saw. I did not care if they did. I only wished to be alone inside myself and let the image of France burn into my mind. Then I heard a sound. It was the Indian girl. She had come up on deck and now stood at the ship's rail near me. Her cheeks were as wet with tears as mine were. There was a difference, I soon learned from her. My tears were of loss, born from the idea of leaving France. Hers were tears of joy. "I am going home," she said." |-| French= :"''Le 22 juin 1666 Je suis restée sur le pont à regarder les côtes de France disparaître au loin. Catherine est restée en bas, dans l'entrepont, comme dit le capitaine. Moi, je voulais regarder. Je ne reverrai peut-être jamais plus la France. J'ai pleuré. Mais comme mes joues étaient mouillées d'embruns, je crois que personne ne s'en est aperçu. Et puis, peu importe. Tout ce que je voulais, c'était de rester seule et de graver dans ma mémoire l'image de la France que je quittais. Puis j'ai entendu un bruit. C'était la petite Indienne. Elle était montéee sur le pont et se tenait maintenant appuyée au bastingage, juste à côté de moi. Ses joues ruisselaient de larmes, comme les miennes. Mais pas pour les mêmes raisons. Mes larmes étaient des larmes de tristesse, nées du chagrin que j'éprouvais à quitter la France. Les siennes étaient des larmes de joie. «Je rentre chez moi», a-t-elle dit." Plot Following the death of their father, Hélène and Catherine St. Onge are left in debt. They are approached by Monsieur Deschamps, who recruits Catherine to become a ''filles à marier. Women in France's colony, New France, are scarce, therefore filles à marier are enlisted to marry New France's men. Catherine's passage will also be paid by the King of France as a filles à marier. Hélène accompanies Catherine, but as a companion not a filles à marier. The sisters board a ship called Le Chat Blanc with their chaperones Monsieur Deschamps and Madame Laurent, along with several other filles à marier. On the ship, Hélène befriends Kateri Aubry, a half-Mohawk, half-French girl. In mid-July, Catherine and many of the other girls become sick. Catherine ultimately dies from her illness, leaving Hélène devastated. Kateri's father, Jean, a widower, later offers her words of comfort. Monsieur Deschamps pressures Hélène to take her sister's place as a filles à marier. Jean comes to her defense and Hélène delays her answer to Monsieur Deschamps. Ultimately, Hélène decides to become a filles à marier. After reaching Québec, Jean escorts Hélène and the others to Montréal. Hélène moves in with her aunt, Barbe Moitié and begins working at her tavern. In late October, Kateri comes to spend a few weeks with Hélène, while Jean visits their Mohawk relatives. Jean finally returns to Montréal in mid-December. On Christmas Day, Hélène visits the Aubrys home, where she finds Jean afflicted with smallpox. Hélène and Kateri slowly nurse him back to health for a month. Jean later asks Hélène for permission to court her, which she accepts. He proposes engagement to her, after spending a lot time in together during the spring. In May, Hélène receives word from a French cousin, who offers to arrange a marriage for her. She declines and informs Jean that she accepts his proposal. Characters *'Hélène St. Onge', a thirteen-year-old French girl. Her sister, Catherine, becomes a filles à marier. They leave their home in France to live in New France. *'Kateri Aubry' is Hélène's best friend and the young daughter of Jean. The girls meet on board Le Chat Blanc. Kateri is half-Mohawk and half-French. *'Jean Aubry', Kateri's father. At first, he is a "silent, unsmiling man", but eventually befriends Hélène. Author Maxine Trottier (born May 3, 1950 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan) is an American-born Canadian author. She has won awards for her children's books, Claire's Gift, Laura: A Childhood Tale of Laura Secord, and The Tiny Kite of Eddy Wing. Trottier is the author of three books in Dear Canada, including The Death of My Country and Blood Upon Our Land, as well as Storm the Fortress from I Am Canada. Trottier made several discoveries about her ancestry while researching Alone in an Untamed Land. Marie Moitié, the second wife of her direct ancestor Pierre Chesne dit St. Onge, was a filles du roi and served as the basis for Tante Barbe. After starting the story, Trottier learned of another filles du roi ancestor named Catherine Ducharme. Editions Alone-Untamed-Land-Fr.jpg|''Seule au Nouveau Monde'' French edition (September 2003)https://www.amazon.ca/Cher-Journal-Nouveau-Montréal-Nouvelle-France/dp/0439970032/ Awards *Hackmatack Children's Choice Award (2004) - shortlistedhttp://hackmatack.ca/downloads/shortlists/2004-05HackmatackShortlist.pdf *Tiny Torgi Audio Award (2004) - shortlistedhttp://www.scholastic.ca/books/view/dear-canada-alone-in-an-untamed-land/ *Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre (2004) - commended *OLA Silver Birch Award (2004) - shortlistedhttps://www.accessola.org/web/Documents/OLA/Forest/Archives/SilverBirch-Archive-1.pdf *Arts Hamilton Award for Children's Book (2005) - winner *Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children (2005) - shortlisted *Red Cedar Award, BC Young Readers' Choice (2006) - shortlistedhttp://www.lloydminster.info/libdocs/Awards/redcedar2006.pdf Acknowledgements :"Thanks to Barbara Hehner for her careful checking of the manuscript; and to Andrew Gallup, historian, writer and editor of the journal, ''Interprétant Nouvelle France." References See also External links *[http://www.scholastic.ca/dearcanada/books/alone.htm ''Alone in an Untamed Land at Scholastic Canada] *[http://www.scholastic.ca/editions/livres/collections/cherjournal/livres/seuleaumouveaumonde.htm Alone in an Untamed Land at Scholastic Canada] (French) *[http://www.scholastic.ca/dearcanada/teaching/pdfs/Alone_in_an_untamed_Land.pdf Alone in an Untamed Land Discussion Guide at Scholastic Canada] Category:A to Z Category:Books Category:Dear Canada Category:Dear Canada books Category:Alone in an Untamed Land Category:Books by Maxine Trottier